Two Harrogate district men were fined over £4,000 today for selling a van with ‘potentially catastrophic’ faults to its brakes and structural parts.
North Yorkshire County Council’s Trading Standards team began an investigation after receiving a complaint from a resident who had bought the van in October last year to use in a long-distance house move.
The Iveco Daily van was listed on a Gumtree advert as “ready to work and runs perfect”.
However, an expert vehicle examiner found that on a road the van was dangerous because some components were corroded and there was excessive corrosion to the brake discs.
Paul Beesley, of Allotment Gardens, Harrogate and Andrew Birch, of The Green, Kirkby Malzeard, Ripon pleaded guilty at York Magistrates’ Court to offences under the Road Traffic Act 198T8 and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
Mr Beesley and Mr Birch were each ordered to pay a total of £2,006 in fines and costs at the rate of £200 per month.
The two men are listed on Companies House as directors of Boroughbridge firm Boss Motorhome Hire.
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County Councillor Derek Bastiman, executive member for Trading Standards, said:
“The resident relied on the description of this van in the advert he saw, and thought that he had bought a vehicle that he could use safely on an international journey.
“The nature of the faults on the van could have led to a terrible outcome for him, other road users or pedestrians, and for that reason trading standards officers will always take action where there is evidence that an unsafe vehicle has been supplied in the county.”
